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Why
Did Jesus Have To Die?
Why was
Jesus the only one who could pay for our sins?
Jesus unique claims as
the Saviour of the World are rooted in His very identity. Some have
lauded Him as a great teacher, a wise man, a holy man and a worker of
good. True as all these claims are, they really fail to grasp the reason
why Jesus uniquely could reconcile the broken relationship between God
and mankind.
The
Great Divide:
You may say what broken relationship? The Bible describes our world as
one where it’s Creator (God) is in a state of separation from His
creatures (us). This is because of the problem of sin; things we do
wrong that have fractured our relationship from our Creator.
You may say that you don’t believe in sin, but look around and you
will see sin in the paradox of a world we live in:
- We
spend millions on advancing life saving medical treatments and at
the same time continue to develop weapons of mass destruction.
- We
develop more and more sophisticated methods of fertility treatments
and yet abort thousands of babies.
- We
create amazing architectural designs and allow the development of
disgusting slums.
- We
make marriages based on life long promises of selfless love, and
then break them in anger and vitriol.
- We
build huge mountains of unwanted food whilst 2/3rds of the world
lives in poverty.
There
is no doubt that our world is built on foundations of self-centredness,
dishonesty, anger, hatred, jealousy and pride. I guess many of us think
that we are not part of that system that we are basically good. However,
I think Aleksander Solzhenitsyn gets to the
heart of the matter in his book The Gulag Archipelago…
If
only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds,
and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and
destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart
of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own
heart?
That
is the sad fact of the seriousness of sin! It draws a penalty that
requires death. It really is that serious in the eyes of a Holy God.
What is needed is someone who can cross the great divide between man and
God, someone eligible to pay that price. That person is Jesus.
The
God Man:
There is no doubt that Jesus was a man. We have records of his birth,
childhood, occupation and death. He exhibited emotions and had all the
needs that we experience: warmth, food and shelter etc. BUT! He was also
God. He stated this and it is backed up by His miracles: power over
nature, sickness, demons and death. What better bridge between man and
God than a man who was also God!
The Great Exchange:
Because of His unique identity Jesus was able to fulfil a role that no
one before or since has been able to or needed to. On that bloody and
brutal Cross outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago he once and for all
bridged the great divide between man and God.
Your enduring memories of the “Passion” may be the brutal torture
and execution of this man. But it was not just His physical suffering
that paid that great debt. In that moment he cried out to God the father
“Why have you forsaken me?” he endured separation from God so that
we should not. In that moment the penalty of every sin ever to be
committed was heaped upon Him. In that moment he became the rapist, the
murderer, the adulterer, the child molester, the liar, the thief, the
selfish, the arrogant, the proud, the mugger, the violent husband, the…
In
that moment he paid the penalty for all that sin, for all my sin, for
all your sin.
At
the Cross, the perfect life that deserves heaven, the life He lived is
offered to us. At the Cross, the sinful life we have lived has been paid
for. There need be nothing now that separates us from a relationship
with our Heavenly Father. Jesus said I come that may have life and life
to the full!
Take
Your Medicine:
On
the Cross Jesus died and was separated from the presence of God so we
should never be. However, His offer of life is a conditional one…
Imagine you have a life threatening illness and the doctor correctly
diagnoses it. He gives you a prescription of a revolutionary medicine,
which will guarantee that you live. Imagine you collect that
prescription but never take it…?
Jesus’ payment for our debt, a payment that will allow us a
relationship with God for eternity is conditional upon us applying his
sacrifice to our lives. Believing in Him, trusting in the sacrifice he
made on our behalf, following Him, living His way…
Would
you like that relationship? Would like that forgiveness? Would like that
assurance of peace with God…? Then please look at the link “How Do I
Commit To Jesus?” |
